Monthly Archives: February 2014

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To put it rather bluntly – toll roads are not good public policy. It sucks real big time!

They are stupid and Malaysian voters who are consumers have already spoken against such enterprises and abuse with political patronage!

Toll roads are an inefficient, backwards approach to providing public highways. Worse, they foster corruption, political patronage, and discourage needed improvements on the rest of the highway system.

Malaysian consumers and voters must not be fooled by references to “free-market principles,” “proper pricing,” “supply and demand,” and “economic incentives” from those selling the for-profit roadways. The truth is, any resemblance to free-market principles is more illusion than fact.

A real market-based system has willing sellers, willing buyers, and reasonably unfettered competition.

Any highway of consequence falls flat from the get-go, when it comes to market principles.

First, highway corridors are not assembled by willing buyers in competition with other willing buyers. The state identifies the corridor it wants, establishes what it considers to be a politically and judicially acceptable price, and condemns the land of those sellers who disagree. This is market principles at the end of a gun barrel.

Toll road advocates argue that those who use the system the most will pay the most. Fair enough, but who determines what the buyers should pay? It is not competing sellers of similar services. Highway users do not have viable alternatives to buy highway services from other sources. For all practical purposes, there are no other sellers competing for the motorists’ business and realistic alternatives do not exist.

Toll roads are literally a monopoly that is sanctioned and protected by the state.

Yet, the state’s citizens and other highway users have no channel to influence toll road management and pricing decisions. Upgrades and improvements to any highway viewed as competing with the toll road are likely to be postponed or ignored. Unnecessary congestion, under posted speed limits and arbitrary enforcement on alternative roads are silently condoned by transportation officials and elected officials.

Think about it, toll roads cannot compete without the presence of congestion and motorist inconvenience on the public highway system. Are congestion problems going to be corrected if they threaten the income of the toll road? Not in our lifetime, our highways are already proof of this as all it needs is an accident to occur or worst flash floods!

Those benefiting and laughing all the way to the bank are political cronies who by a stroke of a pen become vulgar cigar smoking overnight billionaires out to bleed Malaysian consumers!

“Enough damage has been done, Rafizi should stop politicising the water issue and concentrate on solving the problem instead of blaming SYABAS,” said George

KUALA LUMPUR- Consumers Association of Subang and Shah Alam (CASSA) president Datuk Dr Jacob George had urged Parti Keadilan Rakyat strategy director Rafizi Ramli to stop politicising the recent water issue in Selangor by blaming it on Selangor water supplier (SYABAS) for the frequent water disruptions in the state.

“Enough damage has been done, Rafizi should stop politicising the water issue and concentrate on solving the problem instead of blaming SYABAS,” he spoke to The Mole in a telephone interview.

George said he was disappointed with Rafizi’s action and that the latter did not do anything as an MP to solve the issue, and instead had politicise it to divert public attention from the on-going Kajang by-election.

George in his press statement yesterday sarcastically thanked Rafizi for his effort to scrutinise SYABAS on the water issue and said that Rafizi’s demands on the state water supplier should be met claiming that the latter’s concern on the issue highly appreciated.

“Due to SYABAS’s action of deliberately creating a water crisis as a result of shutting down the sewage plants, CASSA will announce to the consumers who are affected by the issue to contact Rafizi for water supplies”.

“We are confident that Rafizi will be in those areas that are affected to help SYABAS out with the process. His concern for the people is something that we highly appreciate,” he said in a press statement.

George also said that his organisation had already been doing the basic groundwork in solving the water issue by setting up a hotline for consumers to address their dissatisfaction and complaints.

“We are trying to address the issue, not politicize it,” he added.

Prior to this, Rafizi, who is MP for Pandan, in a report had lambasted SYABAS for blaming the current dry spell as the primary cause for the frequent water disruptions in the state and insisted that SYABAS should first address the problems caused by effluents, which had contaminated the water supply to residents in various areas.

‘Is there another bank out there in 1Malaysia who are able to help this man refinance his property – as – all he needs is RM120,000.00 where the monthly payments will drop to RM1200.00 saving him now a retired person RM1300.00 monthly at a time Malaysian consumers are hard-pressed to make ends meet?’

CASSA Slams CIMB For Been Insensitive & Uncaring Towards Consumers! Is There Another Caring Bank Out There?

Malaysians Bank operates successfully because consumers deposit their monies in them. But when consumers take loans from the same bank and appeal for flexibility – it does not come!

Here is a true story!

Mr G had taken a housing loan for 25 years for his house in 1997. Despite the rollercoaster life’s challenges he kept up the said payments for the said
Property. He paid a monthly payment of RM1881.00

In 2002, he was forced to take a second mortgage on the same property to overcome family emergency for RM60,000.00 and paid a further RM540.00 monthly.

It is now 2014 and the outstanding amount for the 2 loans are RM120,000.00.

As a retired individual, Mr G wrote to CIMB to consolidate both accounts since it is for the same property and bring down the monthly payments to around RM1200.00 which is a repayment structure for that amount IF he decides to refinance the same property from a third party bank!

At CIMB today he was paying about RM2500.00 per month!

He wrote to CIMB – they did not ever reply his letter but notified him through a telephone call that his appeal was rejected!

This is CIMB!

His property has appreciated in value and is worth RM700,000.00 today.

He is not gainfully employed.

Is there another bank out there in 1Malaysia who are able to help this man refinance his property – as – all he needs is RM120,000.00 where the monthly payments will drop to RM1200.00 saving him now a retired person RM1300.00 monthly at a time Malaysian consumers are hard-pressed to make ends meet?

OVER 200 POLICE REPORTS TO BE INITIATED AGAINST TWITTER ACCOUNT HOLDER FOR SEDITION & DEFAMATION! A troll masquerading as a journalist decides to launch a twitter account under the ‘banner of justice’ whose per-occupation seems to be indulging in personal … Continue reading →